West Coast Ports

West Coast Ports

Productivity is the name of the game for West Coast ports leading up to the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2015. Unlike many of the ports on the East and Gulf coasts that are deepening their harbors and enlarging their marine terminals to prepare for the mega-ships that will begin transiting the canal in 2015, the major West Coast gateways already have 50-foot harbors and terminals of 100 to more than 400 acres in size.

In order to prevent an erosion of market share to East Coast ports, the Seattle-Tacoma, Oakland and Los Angeles-Long Beach gateways must improve their efficiency in unloading vessels, moving containers through the yards and expediting the departure of containers by truck and intermodal rail.

The 25 to 26 container moves per crane per hour that mark West Coast port operations must be increased to at least 30 moves per hour. Terminal operators are exploring options for automating yard, gate and on-dock rail operations. The busiest terminals will invest in costly equipment such as dual-hoist cranes, automated guided vehicles and automated stacking cranes. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle about 40 percent of U.S. imports from Asia, will spend more than $7 billion in the coming decade on larger, more efficient terminals and improved connectivity to rail and highway networks.

Offering a transit time advantage of a week to 10 days to the U.S. interior, and the potential for reducing per-slot vessel costs by hundreds of dollars with the arrival of vessels having a capacity of 13,000-TEU capacity, West Coast ports want to beat the canal by even further expanding their 70 percent market share of U.S. imports from Asia.

Special Coverage

But the ports should recoup much of their lost market share next year and beyond if they address their congestion and labor problems, speakers at the Port of Long Beach Pulse of the Ports breakfast said Wednesday.

News & Analysis

After bleeding market share in the first few months of 2015 because of congestion and labor problems, the Seattle-Tacoma gateway appears to be leveling off in the competitive Pacific Northwest. Port Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, is likewise leveling off, but Prince Rupert continues to register impressive double-digit gains compared to last year.

U.S. Federal Maritime Chairman Mario Cordero on Monday said that Los Angeles-Long Beach terminal operators should explain why they need to raise the traffic mitigation fee and raised the prospect of sunsetting the fee, providing ammunition to shippers’ fight against PierPass.

A union representing machinists is challenging the Long Beach Harbor Commission over a requirement that maintenance and repair work associated with the port’s proposed peak-season chassis pool be performed by International Longshore and Warehouse Union mechanics.

Port of Los Angeles staff is recommending that the port authority embark upon a five-year action plan to advance the development of zero-emission technologies for use in marine terminal yard tractors and for short-haul drayage to off-dock facilities such as intermodal rail yards.

Commentary

A leading retail industry consultant suggests the nearly year-long stretch of disruption and uncertainty tied to the recent West Coast longshore labor standoff wasn’t just a minor event in the minds of those companies. Wanting to “de-risk,” shippers may alter their supply chain plans, bypassing the West Coast as much as they can.

Video

Dr. Noel Hacegaba, deputy executive director, Port of Long Beach, discusses port productivity and the impact of mega-ships, the role of infrastructure investment, and the need to emphasize system improvements to increase efficiency.

Acting Long Beach Port Director Al Moro talks about the ambitious projects to prepare the port for the big new container ships that are calling there. POLB and private investors are providing billions of dollars to build new rail lines and a huge automated container terminal, as well as to replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge, which is too low for the new ships.